They are a club steeped in the tradition of possession-based football so it is little surprise that Barcelona a passing measurement in La Liga.
The CIES Football Observatory has compiled data from InStat to show that the Blaugrana play a greater percentage of their passes backwards compared to any other side in the division.
Ronald Koeman’s side play 38.5 percent of their passes backwards – averaging 282 per match – which is marginally higher than Real Madrid, whose percentage of backwards passes is 38.3 percent.
The Catalan giants are ranked eighth in the overall European rankings in the measurements with Madrid two places behind, with English side Manchester City – 41.6 percent of their passes go backwards – the highest side in Europe.
Sevilla (37.9), Villarreal (37.4), Atletico Madrid (36.9) and Real Betis (36.3) are next highest in the sides who tend to play their passes backwards, meaning that five of the top six clubs on this measurement are also in the top six in the league rankings.
Nice